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Ricardo Romo, President

Date of Interview: February 13, 2017

Ricardo Romo has been President of UTSA for 18 years. President Romo was advised that an
investigation was being conducted to determine whether allegations that he had engaged in
sexual misconduct and created a hostile working environment were true. President Romo
immediately referenced the topic of domestic violence and stated that he was curious what
women would have done to make the men so angry at them. President Romo was advised of the
identities of the three victims and the nature of the allegations against him. He referred to
as a serial liar, as a liar, and as an occasional liar. He
stated that the office was like family and th,e hugging was consensual. President Romo
acknowledged that he hugged the victims but disputed the frequency and nature of the hugs. He
stated he hugged on a monthly basis and on special occasions but this stopped when
she was . He said he and were superfriends and had a mutual closeness. He
stated that brought him a bottle of wine and a gift card on June 23, 2016, and told him
she was going to give him a hug. He stated that the hugs were not inappropriate. President
Romo stated that told him she was uncomfortable hugging him when she was
and when she returned from . He was advised that stated he
inappropriately caressed her head on several occasions. He stated he touched her hair only once.
He was asked if he ever emailed and he stated that he emailed her health related articles
from WebMD. He then admitted that he may have emailed heran article on women having short
hair versus long hair. He didn't remember emailing a photo of a mermaid that was nude
from the waist up. He said posted the mermaid photo on her wall. He remembers
taking approximately 5 photos with in his office. President Romo said he has hugged
, and and none of those hugs were inappropriate.
President Romo denied asking questions regarding who with. He admitted asking
on at least one occasion where was and said he did tell to keep it
quiet but doesn't remember whispering to him. He agreed that he probably told
about the phrase "dead man's talk" but he said it because he did not want to tell
that he and were discussing the problem with the timecards. He said
sometimes gets things wrong.

He said he is not jealous of or and that he is only curious about He

said he has zero interest in interactions with men. President Romo stated that
hated and because she felt left out and jealous of their interaction with
President Romo. President Romo described as a very good employee, outgoing,
gregarious, and .a hugger. President Romo said he started htJgging when she was going
through her President Romo stated that walked into his office about four years
ago, gave him a hug, and said that was too long of a hug, and he stopped hugging her from then
on. President Romo said is a hugger and that he never asks her to hug him or expects
her to hug him. President Romo said has never asked him to stop hugging her. They
hug about every 60 days. She comes into his office, gives him a hug and sits down. He said they
are not romantic hugs. President Romo was not sure why said the hugs with him were

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inappropriate and hurt her. He said he is surprised by this. President Romo said he has caught
in lies before.

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